


Dance Buddies

by sanctuary_for_all



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-04
Updated: 2014-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-11 19:40:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2080659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally, Peter has found someone who appreciates awesome music just as much as he does. Now he just needs to figure out what to do about it. </p>
<p>***Spoilers for "Guardians of the Galaxy"***</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance Buddies

If there's one thing Peter Quill knows, it's dancing.

And he swears – seriously, why would I kid about something like this, guys – that Baby Groot boogies down to his mixtape nearly as much as Peter himself does. No one believes him – Drax looks at him like he's nuts, while Rocket immediately starts into a list of everything that the raccoon is sure has gone wrong with Peter's brain since he was, and I quote, "dropped on his head as a baby." Gamora just sighs and shakes her head, but she smiles a little when she does it and Peter finds himself hopeful for things he's never really imagined before.

Groot isn't helping, and Peter still can't decide if the tree's shy somehow or is just being a little shit about it. He hasn't tried a demonstration since that first time – which was somehow more embarrassing than dancing in front of Ronan, maybe because there wasn't that pants-pissing terror to distract him – but he'll turn the mixtape on and just stare at the pot on the off chance of catching a wiggle. One time he even tried turning away and back again – he was sure he caught sight of a shimmy at one point – but eventually Rocket had put a stop to him.

"I'm gonna stop letting you babysit if you insist on being creepifying about it." Rocket glared at he picked up the pot, holding it protectively close. "Groot's just a baby tree now. Having to stare at your ugly mug making faces like that all the time'll mutate his tiny brain."

After that, he stops trying to prove it to everyone else.  Still, he’s not ready to give up.

This is dancing we’re talking about, people.

000

"Groot." Peter's voice is a whisper as he leans over the little plant. “You’re a very sweet tree and I am a terrible person for doing this, but I’m not going to leave you alone until you wake up for a few minutes.”

There's technically no such thing as day and night on a space ship, but there's generally a time set aside for most of the crew to sleep so that they don't end up killing each other. Normally, Peter was as big a fan of sleep as everyone else – it was his second-favorite thing to do in a bed – but they’d decided it probably wasn’t a bad idea to have someone always be awake in case Thanos kind of maybe sent someone to kill them. Peter had volunteered, since Rocket being unconscious was about the only way to get one-on-one time with the little tree.

Slowly, Groot wakes up, stretching his tiny wooden arms and yawning. He smiles up at Peter, as if he’s already forgiven him for being annoying, and Peter feels an odd pang of loss for the old days of “I am Groot.” It was amazing how much nuance the tree could pack into those three little words, and Rocket was proof that you could eventually translate if you started spending enough time with the guy.

It’s been a long time since Peter spent that much time with anyone, but he’s really hoping to change that. When Groot starts learning how to talk again, Peter wants to be there for all of it.  

Now, though, it’s his turn.

"I know we can't actually talk about this, what with you still being non-verbal. But we need to talk about this." Peter leans down slightly, so he’s closer to Groot’s eye level. “I know you’re boogying down to my tunes.”

Groot just shrugs, smiling up at him, and Peter sighs. “I don’t know why you won’t do it in front of everyone else, but I can respect that. I’ve never actually met any shy people, but I’ve heard about them and it seems like that could really be hard.” His expression brightens slightly. “If it’s to make me look like an idiot, that’s actually a way less violent approach then I usually get from people and I appreciate it.”

Groot leans over enough to pat Peter on the nose, the only part of his body the little tree can really reach. Peter has no idea what it means, but he decides to take it as a positive sign. “What I don’t get, though, is why you won’t dance in front of _me_. Seriously, I need a dance buddy like, yesterday, and though I might get Gamora there eventually that’ll take some time and probably a few more knives to my throat until she relaxes a little more.”

It surprises Peter how serious he is about this. He’d never even thought of a dance buddy before now – he let the ladies listen, but that was always more of a one-night thing. The Ravagers had stolen the tape player from him for a little while, early on, but they respected it after he’d kneed one of them in the balls to get it back. None of them understood what was so special about it.

To find someone who did ….

Groot considers this for a moment, then nods. Peter tries hard not to get his hopes up. “Is that a yes?”

When Groot doesn’t say anything to that, Peter carefully props up his headphones earpiece-up near the edge of the pot and turns on Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky.”

For a moment, nothing happens. Then, slowly, Groot lifts his arms and starts bouncing his imaginary hips back and forth. Peter manfully resists the urge to cheer – Gamora and Rocket can both get mean when they’re woken out of a sound sleep – but he pumps his fist in the air before giving Groot a high-five.

000

Later, Drax will find he can’t sleep, and walk into the kitchen area to find Peter holding Groot’s pot on his shoulder, the headphones shared awkwardly between them. He gets the impression that they had just stopped something quite abruptly.

His brow furrows. “Were you … dancing?”

After a beat of silence, Peter will shake his head. “Nah, man, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He smiles. “You probably should get some more sleep.”

When Drax leaves – Peter is correct, after all – he will be almost certain he sees the other man wink at the young tree. He will have no idea, however, that Groot winks right back. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my original short fiction on my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Dance Buddies](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8829313) by [Shmaylor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shmaylor/pseuds/Shmaylor)




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